Draisaitl scores as the Oilers beat the Golden Knights 6-3 for their 5th straight win

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Leon Draisaitl had a goal and two assists, and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Vegas Golden Knights 6-3 on Saturday for their fifth consecutive win.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor Brown each had a goal and an assist for the Oilers (18-10-2), who have won eight of nine overall. Zach Hyman, Corey Perry and Jeff Skinner also scored.

The Golden Knights (19-8-3) had won four in a row. They dropped to 8-2-1 in their last 11 games.

Victor Olofsson, Ivan Barbashev and Brett Howden scored for Vegas, and Adin Hill recorded 28 saves.

Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner finished with 38 stops.

Golden Knights: It wasn't Hill’s night in the Vegas net, allowing five goals on the first 22 shots he faced. Hill entered with a .916 save percentage over seven regular-season contests against the Oilers, along with a .934 save percentage against them in the playoffs.

Oilers: It was Draisaitl’s fifth consecutive multipoint game, recording 13 points in that span.

The Oilers went up 4-0 midway through the second period when Darnell Nurse made a perfect backhand pass across to Draisaitl on the doorstep, and he tapped home his league-leading 22nd goal of the season.

It was Hyman’s fifth goal in as many games since returning from injury and his eighth of the season.

The Golden Knights visit Minnesota on Sunday to finish a three-game trip, and the Oilers host Florida on Monday to wrap up a two-game homestand.

AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers rough it up during the third period of an NHL game in Edmonton, Alberta, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vegas Golden Knights' William Karlsson (71) and Edmonton Oilers' Mattias Ekholm (14) battle in front as goalie Stuart Skinner (74) makes the save during the third period of an NHL game in Edmonton, Alberta, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vegas Golden Knights goalie Adin Hill (33) is scored on by Edmonton Oilers' Zach Hyman (18) and Shea Theodore (27) defends during the second period of an NHL game in Edmonton, Alberta, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vegas Golden Knights' Brayden McNabb (3) and Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (97) battle for the puck during the second period of an NHL game in Edmonton, Alberta, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vegas Golden Knights' Zach Whitecloud (2) is checked by Edmonton Oilers' Corey Perry (90) during the second period of an NHL game in Edmonton, Alberta, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vegas Golden Knights' Noah Hanifin (15) and Edmonton Oilers' Zach Hyman (18) battle for the puck during the second period of an NHL game in Edmonton, Alberta, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vegas Golden Knights' Alexander Holtz (26) and Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl (29) battle for the puck during the third period of an NHL game in Edmonton, Alberta, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vegas Golden Knights' Brett Howden (21) tries for the rebound on the save from Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner (74) during the third period of an NHL game in Edmonton, Alberta, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vegas Golden Knights' Brett Howden (21) tries for the rebound on the save from Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner (74) during the third period of an NHL game in Edmonton, Alberta, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers' Mattias Ekholm (14) and Jeff Skinner (53) celebrate a goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during the third period of an NHL game in Edmonton, Alberta, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

RHO, Italy (AP) — No ice is colder and harder than speedskating ice. The precision it takes has meant that Olympic speedskaters have never competed for gold on a temporary indoor rink – until the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games.

In the pursuit of maximum glide and minimum friction, Olympic officials brought on ice master Mark Messer, a veteran of six previous Olympic speedskating tracks and the ice technician in charge of the Olympic Oval in Calgary, Canada — one of the fastest tracks in the world with over 300 records.

Messer has been putting that experience to work one thin layer of ice at a time since the end of October at the new Speed Skating Stadium, built inside adjacent trade fair halls in the city of Rho just north of Milan.

“It’s one of the biggest challenges I’ve had in icemaking,’’ Messer said during an interview less than two weeks into the process.

If Goldilocks were a speedskater, hockey ice would be medium hard, for fast puck movement and sharp turns. Figure skating ice would be softer, allowing push off for jumps and so the ice doesn’t shatter on landing. Curling ice is the softest and warmest of all, for controlled sliding.

For speedskating ice to be just right, it must be hard, cold and clean. And very, very smooth.

“The blades are so sharp, that if there is some dirt, the blade will lose the edge,’’ Messer said, and the skater will lose speed.

Speedskater Enrico Fabris, who won two Olympic golds in Turin in 2006, has traded in his skates to be deputy sports manager at the speedskating venue in Rho. For him, perfect ice means the conditions are the same for all skaters — and then if it's fast ice, so much the better.

"It's more of a pleasure to skate on this ice,'' he said.

Messer’s first Olympics were in Calgary in 1988 — the first time speedskating was held indoors. “That gave us some advantages because we didn’t have to worry about the weather, wind blowing or rain,’’ he said. Now he is upping the challenge by becoming the first ice master to build a temporary rink for the Olympics.

Before Messer arrived in Italy, workers spent weeks setting up insulation to level the floor and then a network of pipes and rubber tubes that carry glycol — an antifreeze — that is brought down to minus 7 or minus 8 degrees Celsius (17.6 to 19.4 degrees Fahrenheit) to make the ice.

Water is run through a purification system — but it can’t be too pure, or the ice that forms will be too brittle. Just the right amount of impurities “holds the ice together,’’ Messer said.

The first layers of water are applied slowly, with a spray nozzle; after the ice reaches a few centimeters it is painted white — a full day’s work — and the stripes are added to make lanes.

“The first one takes about 45 minutes. And then as soon as it freezes, we go back and do it again, and again and again. So we do it hundreds of times,’’ Messer said.

As the ice gets thicker, and is more stable, workers apply subsequent layers of water with hoses. Messer attaches his hose to hockey sticks for easier spreading.

What must absolutely be avoided is dirt, dust or frost — all of which can cause friction for the skaters, slowing them down. The goal is that when the skaters push “they can go as far as possible with the least amount of effort,’’ Messer said.

The Zamboni ice resurfacing machine plays a key role in keeping the track clean, cutting off a layer and spraying water to make a new surface.

One challenge is gauging how quickly the water from the resurfacing machine freezes in the temporary rink.

Another is getting the ice to the right thickness so that the Zamboni, weighing in at six tons, doesn’t shift the insulation, rubber tubing or ice itself.

“When you drive that out, if there’s anything moving it will move. We don’t want that,’’ Messer said.

The rink got its first big test on Nov. 29-30 during a Junior World Cup event. In a permanent rink, test events are usually held a year before the Olympics, leaving more time for adjustments. “We have a very small window to learn,’’ Messer acknowledged.

Dutch speedskater Kayo Vos, who won the men’s neo-senior 1,000 meters, said the ice was a little soft — but Messer didn’t seem too concerned.

“We went very modest to start, now we can start to change the temperatures and try to make it faster and still maintain it as a safe ice,’’ he said.

Fine-tuning the air temperature and humidity and ice temperature must be done methodically — taking into account that there will be 6,000 spectators in the venue for each event. The next real test will be on Jan. 31, when the Olympians take to the ice for their first training session.

“Eighty percent of the work is done but the hardest part is the last 20 percent, where we have to try to find the values and the way of running the equipment so all the skaters get the same conditions and all the skaters get the best conditions,’’ Messer said.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Serpentines are set on the ice of the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Workers clean the ice surface during a peed skating Junior World Cup and Olympic test event, in Rho, near Milan, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)